A Burp in Food Content – Jim on a Soapbox. Columbus Rocks!!

And now for something completely different. Man can not live by bread (and sandwiches, and ice cream, and…). For this post, I am all about the CMH (Columbus) and not so much the Gourmand.

I love Columbus. I am not sure when this happened. I have never been anti–Columbus but I had my eye on other places. I also, as my friends can attest, I made a run at being a fulltime Australian. I have been here all my life. Our city impresses me with potential. I think our fair city has a lot to offer anyone. And I think we are going to see some of this potential blossom sooner instead of later. I am excited about things other than eating….and that does not happen often.

Check out the blog; stay tuned for little leaps and bounds of greatness from this group. I have been a member since the first meeting. I always leave excited about what we can do. This group wants and needs more of you to add your two cents and two hands to grow this group. The object is to use Social Media (blogs, podcasts, Flickr groups, etc.) as a means of connecting the people of Columbus with information and each other. This is also a means to let people outside of 270 know about the greatness within. There is a social component to this group too. The Beer Wench is a member and we have become partners in crime for many food related events. Jeff from the blog UrbaninFill recently joined me for a Podcast adventure on the OSU campus.

PodcampOhiowww.podcampohio.com
I will let the website do the talking on this one. Podcamp is a great learning opportunity for everyone be you a computer geek or technophobe. People are traveling from throughout the state and the region to be here. We are lucky this event landed in Columbus. The guy to thank for this is Angelo Mandato. Thanks!

TechColumbushttp://www.techcolumbus.org
Another organization we are lucky to have in Columbus. This place plants the seeds for technology start-ups. What an incredible resource to have literally at our fingertips.

Start Up Weekend July 17th and 18thhttp://startupweekend.com
At the end of this weekend, some people in Columbus will have created several viable, sustainable businesses with the help of like-minded peers and business experts – and probably a lot of coffee. The power of social media got the startup weekend here and will keep it thriving after the Start Up Weekend is finished. A post on Columbus Underground helped drive in the votes needed for Columbus to win out over many other cities.

Thanks Walker Evans for creating and maintaining this hub of hipness and great information. If there is something going on in Columbus, it will be on this site, with regulars posting their well reasoned opinions on everything from streetcars, to the best new restaurant or just who wants to meet up for a drink. This is another example of the power of social media. It is not about e-mails – it is about action and connecting likeminded people. Some members of the group decided to meet up at the Warehouse Café downtown on Saturdays to support weekend business downtown. A few posts built a cadre of regulars. Now, each Saturday sees up to 30 people pass through the doors to support an independent business and build some friendships. In the past four months several people in this group have become really good friends of mine. We have a Kickball team, dine out events, beer tastings, survived a Dagwood Eating contest; we did a cleanup on a bike trail and are a defacto support group for a bastion of streetcar evangelists.

When we build it, they will ride. Come on Columbus. Streetcars are not intended to solve our public transportation problem. This is a first step, a baby step really. Sometimes in the life, or the life of a city, you have to start with what you have – not what would be perfect or meet everyone needs all at once. If you wait for the right time, the right time never comes. You have to make things happen and this is the time to make streetcars a reality.